‘Complete breakdown of security': New report blames ‘cascade' of failures by Secret Service for Trump assassination attempt
Several shots were fired at President Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 last year, with one of the bullets grazing the then Republican candidate's right ear.
One rally attendee was killed during the shooting, which ended when Secret Service agents shot dead gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was positioned on a roof just 120m from the stage.
The Senate report, released a year to the day after the shooting occurred, accused the Secret Service of a pattern of negligence and communications breakdowns in the planning and execution of the rally's security arrangements.
"This was not a single error. It was a cascade of preventable failures that nearly cost President Trump his life," the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report said.
According to the Republican chair of the committee who handed down the report, there had been a 'complete breakdown of security' at the rally.
"This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level — fuelled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats," Senator Rand Paul said in a statement.
Trump said on Monday that he had survived the shooting because "God was protecting me".
In the wake of the shooting it became clear law enforcement had been notified about the gunman's presence two to three minutes before the gunman opened fire.
One witness at the rally told the BBC he had alerted police after seeing a man with a rifle crawling up a nearby roof minutes before he fired shots at Mr Trump.
'We're standing there, we're pointing, pointing at the guy crawling up the roof," the witness, named Greg Smith said.
'The police are there running around on the ground. We're like 'hey man there's a guy on the roof with a rifle' and the police were like 'whoah what?' you know, they didn't know what was going on."
Mr Smith said there were two or three minutes between him alerting police and the shots being fired, adding he couldn't understand why the Secret Service hadn't pulled Mr Trump off the stage.
'I'm thinking to myself why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage?' he said.
'I'm standing there pointing at him for, you know, two, three minutes Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn, I'm pointing at that roof, just standing there.
'Next thing you know, five shots rang out.'
Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the director of the Secret Service 10 days after the shooting, amid harsh scrutiny of the agency's role.
Six Secret Service agents on duty during the attempt have also received suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days, the agency said on Thursday.
The committee said more than six officials should have been punished, and that two of those who were disciplined received lighter punishments than it had recommended. It highlighted the fact that no one was fired.
Current Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement that the agency has received the report and will continue to cooperate with the committee.
"Following the events of July 13, the Secret Service took a serious look at our operations and implemented substantive reforms to address the failures that occurred that day," Curran said.
The Secret Service is charged with protecting current and former presidents and their families, as well as visiting foreign leaders and other senior officials.
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Trump fires jobs data commissioner after dismal report
US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. 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"No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation. US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. "I support the president's decision to replace Biden's commissioner and ensure the American people can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS," Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. "No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation. US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. "I support the president's decision to replace Biden's commissioner and ensure the American people can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS," Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. "No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation. US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. "I support the president's decision to replace Biden's commissioner and ensure the American people can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS," Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. "No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
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‘Shocking': Humanitarian crisis in Gaza must be ‘resolved'
Former Howard government minister Peter McGauran says the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza must be 'resolved' before the UN General Assembly in September. 'It's shocking; Trump and the US are stepping in directly,' Mr McGauran told Sky News Australia. 'All the pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government from Europe is not working, but the Americans will shift them. 'I think there will be an improvement, at least in the food supply to the Gaza population before then.'
